Long-Term Care
Long-term care refers to the medical and/or personal care services required by a person with chronic disability or illness. Seven in ten Americans age 65 or older will need some type of long term-care, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
While a nursing home is often what comes to mind when you think of long-term care, most services are provided at home, in adult day care or assisted living. Medicare and/or a Medicare supplement will not pay for long-term care, leaving you with a gap in coverage.
How will you pay for it?
To protect their life savings. Long-term care costs can deplete a retirement nest egg quickly. The average cost of care is $80,000 a year.
To give more choices for care. The more money you can spend, the better the quality of care you can get. If you rely on Medicaid, your choices will be limited to the nursing homes that accept payments from the government program. Medicaid will also make you spend most of your assets with a few exceptions.
To lessen the burden: Long-term care is not about the person who needs it, it’s about the family members that have to deal with it. Most spouses or children are not prepared to provide long term care service to their loved ones. This type of care causes not only health issues for the people providing care but it could also mean a spouse or a child may have to give up their career.
